Transmission works again.

Memorial day weekend.

-Got work done at one duplex
-Rode on the Lanesboro trail with "she who carrys the child".
-Had an impromptu bonfire at the house.
-Got in some other fun rides. One with Dab Man (Jon Finoff) and one with Tri Guy.
-Got the lawn ready to hopefully be green and lush.
-Got the garden ready and flowers planted.
-Hardly touched the "to do" list.



Anywho, my baby's momma is expanding daily and she is officially 6 months along. We are trying to get things ready to go soon here. She is still working out, but running is being phased out and swimming/elliptical are being phased in. Speaking of working out, I finally feel like my fifth gear works again (first time this year). After 2 CC races and 2 local mtb TT's, the legs are kicking strong again. Last night's mtb TT felt good and I finally feel like I have caught up in my fitness from the debacle that was my knee injury.
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That is it for now, get back to work.

There is hope for our society.

Guess what very pregnant woman that I live with used to stand up at NKOTB concerts screaming her love for Joey?

8=0, the Kuske mantra for VR training camp

It came, it went, it rocked; the First Annual Velorochester Training Camp at the cabin. The goal for the weekend was to ride, race, and get ball'n up in the Cable, WI area. Also, this would also give me a chance to explore the trails up there for the first time.

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Friday

Tri-Guy (Mark Carey), Kuske (Matt Kurke), and I meet up with Chris SL (Chris Fisher) and Sam-o (Sam Oftedahl, a guest member for the weekend) We decide to take off for a shake down ride before it got dark. We took off from the cabin and up the Esker trail (starts at the cabin). By the end of the trail, rain starts in. When we get on Spider Lake Road the wind is howling. A large falling pine tree almost stops the weekend short for many of us (you should have hard the thing crack). The weather calms when we get back and KC (Brendan Moore), Wenkster (Jason Wenk), and Dot Com (Paul Hanson, guest member) show up. Antics raged as the campfire burns.

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Saturday

Someone gets everyone up at 6am to see the black bear in the field across the road. We get up, Kuske makes some flapjacks, and we roll out to the race. The cabin was perfectly situated between the start and the finish so we lessened our carbon footprint by riding to and fro. The training camp does well with Dot Com winning, KC in 3rd, Sam-o in 4th, Chris SL in 7th, and Kuske in 12th. Wenkster, Tri-Guy and I all had problems during the race. Wenkster felt like poo. I managed to stack it hard while riding behind Kuske down a fireroad halfway through and then run out of water for 8 miles. Tri-guy broke a chain and ran, yes he did run, 3 miles until getting it fixed. Kuske's burgers and munchin on Dot Com's pork made our bellys happy after the race. Tri-guy goes for a trail run afterwards and ends up hurting his hand, taking him out of the ride that night and the next day. The night ride planned for Saturday ends before it starts because of weather (and KC and Dot Com's sad puppy dog faces).

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Sunday

Breakfast at the Cable Cafe saw KC signing the Fat Tire poster (check it out hanging behind their counter). Tri-Guy goes fishing while the rest of us head out again on the Esker trail. From there we did the Objibwe, and headed over on dirt roads for the Rock Lake trail. FUN, FUN, FUN trails!! We came back on the road where the headwind and speed were high. Almost a 4 hour ride that had all of us smiling and satisfied (that's what she said). We cleaned up the cabin and headed out.

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Notes:

-Tri-Guy's hand is now very stiff and full of blood.

-Wenkster and Dot Com are not "officially" a couple, but we are happy for them both anyways.

-Top Chris SL can dig out a fire pit with a snow shovel.

-The cabin is a blast and open to rent for your own adventures.

-Pictures courtesy of Kuske.

-You need to get back to work.

Good morning

I gotta pack and such for this weekend, but needless to say the Cabin is about to get invaded by a bunch of mountain bikers.

Anyways, anybody catch The Office? As not to say to much; someone is gone, someone is pregnant, a couple got engaged, there is a new office love match, someone went to jail, someone is thought to be mentally handicapped, someone cheated on their partner, someone got promoted, and Darryl broke out his sweet synthesizer. All in all a decent episode.

Did I mention I got to feel the baby kick last night? Hopefully, the baby is mine and Becky did not go to a sperm bank (The Office reference).

Get back to work.

First race of the year.

Mother's day marked the first race of the year for me and pretty much the first hard effort. After taking care of my "I heart Mom" duties on Friday night I was clear for me time on the bike. The last month has seen me off the bike a lot (I like to say I was tapering). First, I had to let the knee recover which ended up taking over 2 weeks because I was impatient, and then a cold took out almost all riding for another 1 1/2 weeks. I came into this race well rested and thanks to my inability to restrain my hand to mouth actions during that time, a few pounds heavier. Needless to say, I was just hoping to get some intensity in and not embarrass myself too much.

I was in the second row at the MNSCS Expert start. A little small talk and making fun of others and their bikes as to get the upper mental edge was the game I was playing as my fun would end seconds later. Off we started, and I ended up soft pedaling for the first 70 feet as I was stuck behind some single speeder. A couple of corners and a small hill before the water tower bend saw me move up several spots in the prologue. I held back at the start as I knew I could easily blow up, but still hit the singletrack in 7th position behind Hollywood with a group of 4 just seconds up on us. I was feeling really good at that point and made a pass, to which Sam Oftedahl (Erik's brother) passed me. I held his wheel until the my internal power regulator prematurely started to turn down the dial. And that is what happened the rest of the race. I could not sustain a good power output as the dial kept getting turned down despite never feeling redlined. I steadily made my way backwards, and 1 hour and 41 minutes later, ended 26th for the day. Last year I was 13th and a couple of minutes faster. Now I just to get some time on my bike at high intensity to build on the base miles in the legs.

Picture courtesy of Ryan Isaacs off of the MNSCS page.

Some race notes:

-The course was dry and fast except for the mudhole that sucked in more than one front wheel. The rain the night before was shown who the boss is by the MORC race organizers.

-My bike is awesome. I love the way that things rides.

-There were several more team members out there from Velorochester this year which was great! Old Man Barlow took his age group in citizen, "Killer Calves" Moore took second overall in Expert, and Top Chris SL followed him in 8th. It is cool to see others rocking out some top places.

-It was good to get a race in the legs. The body feels like it woke back up and knows that it is time to get to some serious riding.

-Doug Swanson would have won by more had he put a 26" rear wheel on, but he had read the article and did not want to give it any acknowledgement by doing as such.

-Matt Kurke. No notes, just mentioning his name.

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Some Non-race notes:

-My baby's momma is getting the kicks going on from the growth in her tummy. That is pretty sweet.

-The first ever Velorochester training camp is this next weekend. One thing is for sure, we will not be measuring saddle set backs. We are too cool for that.

-I have got a lot of painting to do today before the new tenant moves in this weekend.

-Rochester Cycling and Fitness is busy these days.

-You need to get back to work.

I made Velonews, kinda.

I was interviewed for this news article for a new feature in Velonews and was able to get a sneak peak before it gets published:

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Big Wheelie Rolling



By Toby Flenderson



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In a time where light weight seems to rule the course there is one rider that takes advantage of the new technology despite possible weight gain. Four years ago mountain bike racer Charly Tri remained ahead of the curve by joining and and then leading the 29" wheel revolution. "It just rides so much better. Better traction, a smoother ride, who wouldn't want that?", Charly explains.
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It took several years, but top pros are now hearing Charly's calls. The results speak for themselves and now 29" wheels can be found all over. Professional Gary Fisher rider Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski had been one of those with his eye on Charly and his exploits on his big wheels. "I wouldn't say that Charly had any influence on my bike choice," a tight lipped JHK responded, "I mean, I may read his blog. Ok, sure, he made have had a large affect on my bike choice.". Doug Swanson was a pro mountain bike racer from MN that heard Charly's call, "He just seemed to make so much sense. He has convinced me to race on a Gary Fisher Superfly this year. I can only hope to get the same benefits on it that Jo Mama, a nickname of Charly's on the MN circuit, has reaped".
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Well, Charly has a new trick up his sleeve this year. "Yeah, I am riding the Trek 69'er bikes for 2008. I just found that I got almost all of the benefits of the 29'er but better acceleration and handling with the 26" rear wheel," exclaimed an excited Charly. "To me, I just want to ride the best and I am lucky that I get to". Charly will be tackling the first MN race this weekend aboard his 69'er hardtail. As Charly says, "I truly believe this will be a faster bike, but I don't think my fitness will be there. I had to take a lot of time off to let me knee heal from a crash, and then I get sick. Frankly, it may be a very tough first race for me. I know I can't use the bike as an excuse though!!".
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Both JHK and Doug Swanson were both approached about Charly's new bike choice for this year. We caught up with JHK at a Velonews photoshoot. After hearing the news of the 69'ers making it into Charly's stable a normally mellow JHK turned very upset. At first he was silent, but you could see his eyes water up, and then he unexpectedly through his carbon fiber Superfly 20 feet. After screaming several expletives, he locked himself in a dressing room where he could be heard crying.
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Note:the information in the next paragraph is being relayed to you despite my lawyer's objections.
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Our experience notifying Doug Swanson (or defendant #1 as he will be referred to soon in court) was dramatically different. It took us awhile to convince Doug that his 29'er was now "not good enough" for Charly's remarkable talent. When Swanson realized could be riding at a deficit the interview turned ugly quickly. He first started yelling, "Do you know who I am? I hold the fastest time at Chequamgon! I win road races at will! He can't do this to me! Do you know who I am?". Doug then got right into this reporter's face. He took his index finger, and while poking me in the chest, he demanded that Charly not be able to ride his new found secret. It was then that I noticed that Dan, his brother, was on all fours behind me. With a large push from Doug I was on the ground. Doug and Dan then both hopped on their 29'ers and repeatedly rode over me. Later, they would claim they not could distinguish the fact that they they were riding over my limp body because their big wheels smooth out the ride so much. My pleas for help were only met with yelps of ,"Grandstay mafia rules".
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As you can see, riders are very picky and emotional when it comes to choosing their bikes. I saw the look of fear, anger, and sadness from top racing professionals when they realized that their bike may not be the best out there. With endurance races at the top of his racing schedule, Chary is excited to start the season. It is with baited breath that the world waits to see what "Jo Mama" can conquer on his 69'er this year.
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Blogger's note: I may have made all of this up, maybe.

Things that I am digg'n

I have 2 new mountain bikes this year. The 69'er Top Fuel from Trek and this bad boy. I have no time yet on the dually (except for Interbike where it was awesome), but this is what I was riding last weekend. It rocks...hard. Too bad I am off the bike for at least 3 more days.


I am also digg'n this. It gets bigger by the day and according to the host body, movement has been felt. Week 20 down, 20 to go.

Some guys show scantily clad women spread out over their custom cars. This is my version. So hot, so hot.

Well, this weekend holds more cabin work with the Old Man. I won't have a camera, but I'll see that cat on the dash for many hours again.

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Move your mouse over that X in the top right corner, click it, and then get back to work. Later.

OTB, either definition is not good.

OTB-In a race this stands for "off the back". Not good.

OTB-In my case it means "off the bike". Also, not good.

This winter I went down hard on my knee. My front wheel went out on some ice and I pile drived my left knee into the asphalt. It looks like I tore some ligaments. I have been continuing my riding with the assumption that it would heal. Well, with the introduction of intense riding a couple of weeks ago, the pain has gotten worse. I took almost a week off, but the 4 hour ride yesterday brought back the pain. Now it gets iced twice a day, I swallow 3 ibuprofen 3 times a day, and I am keeping off the bike for a minimum of a week. Rest now so I can race later, hopefully.

This means NO Transiowa. I would end up dropping because the pain in the knee would end up getting worse and worse during the event until it was too much. I would probably end up doing more damage as well.

Some times you gotta do what you gotta do. I guess I am glad that my life does not only revolve around cycling, and I can look forward to some other things the next couple of weeks.

Other big happenings? Top Chris SL tied the knot this weekend. Check it out with KC here.

In other news, J-No and L-No have a new set of twins in their family. Here is the man with all four young'ns. They had other children before, but they were given up for adoption because they did not have the required blond hair and blue eyes. I kid, I kid.


J-No requested a pic of my Transiowa bike. Here it is. Four large water bottles and a handlebar bag (mount is on, but bag is not in pic) would have aided me in my now cancelled assault on Iowa. I figured I should make J-No happy as he is the one of the 3 people who read my blog.

I am going to take this bag of ice off of my knee and head to work now....

Ragnarok 105

Chances of me starting tomorrow are not looking good at all. I wish this was not the case. In a long held history of cycling I now present to you my reasons/excuses why it is not my fault (all of which are obviously not my fault, duh).

1. I race for fun. I am far from earning a paycheck in any sense of the word. Riding 105 miles on gravel in at least somewhat decent conditions sounds fun to me. Sub 35 degrees still sounds fun. Sub 35 degrees with much water on the ground and more coming from the sky does not. Take out the water factor and I would be there without problem. No fun, no check, no race.

2. This was supposed to be a "tune-up" race for Transiowa. If I spend the next 10 days recovering then that hurts my chances at Transiowa. That doesn't sound too smart, does it?

3. I am still nursing my knee from a fall this winter while riding. It hurts still when I ride. My back finally seems 100%. Do I really need another physical ailment? Do I need to make my knee worse?

On the flip side of these excuses, I do feel strong and my bike is 20 minutes from being ready with fenders and such.

I guess it will have to wait for Iowa. Hopefully, things will go better there.

Rock out with your light saber out.

This year I have put more hours on the bike, but all at low intensity. Last night represented my second ride that put me into the red and the legs are coming around. Good news for the legs.

Saturday, oh Saturday. I am set to do this. 105 miles on gravel. Weather? Oh, a balmy 35 degrees with snow and rain. This looks like it may turn into a race of survival. The higher the difficulty, the larger the gaps are from those that are strong and those that are striving to be. Hopefully, good news on the weather front.

And, great news to speak of, today has arrived. The Office is back with new episodes!! Pam and Jim, Angela and Andy, and Michael and Jan have a wacky dinner party tonight. What crazy antics will my second family be up to? Tonight will tell.

So now I go to work. I have to work on the bike and get it ready. Maybe you could get back to work as well? What is that? You have more useless blogs to read. Alright...

The Office

Six days to the return of the best show in television history.

Work has been very busy lately. You should get busy as well.

Another weekend, more working.

You know what this means....

Time for my Dad and I to head up to the cabin for more work. Cable, WI seems to have snow cover still, but not for long.

Friday afternoon I was able to sneak away for a few hours to ride my monkey. Spider Lake Road proved to be very soft, but fun to ride.

I snuck into this guys cabin and and left a note stating, "take that sucka"!!!

Camba has maps all over. You can see were I was, you can see where the cabin is (C9).

Getting farther and farther away.

Pretty, so pretty.

Many head into the Northwoods, some do not make it out.

This sure beats the gravel roads around Rochester.

Ice, ice baby. Even the gravel roads up there are incredible.

Deer are everywhere up there. It is a little absurd.

Shoo!


This is a 2 minute walk from the cabin. Right next to the Canoe drop in. Did I mention that you can enjoy the cabin too?


The women folk came Saturday to help clean, and stain the walls. Left to right; Kim, my sick sister, my momma, and my baby's momma. Pic taken at one of the restaurants at Telemark Lodge.

Me, the dog, the Baby's Momma in the living room, chillin'.

Upstairs before.

Upstairs after.

Same spot.

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Upstairs after, same corner. Upstairs is 99% done and it looks flipping awesome!

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. .Dang it, more deer!!!

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Kim got sick. She got it from my brother Peter. He got it from my Dad. Now I have it. Nina tries to be supportive.

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Special shout out to my family. Because of them, I am home with really bad stomach pains, aches all over, and frequent trips to the bathroom. If history is any indicator, I will be up and at'em tomorrow. Again, family, I could not have done it with out you.

My folks left early. Sunday was my second niece's baptism. Becky and I were not invited. I guess after my sister-in-law's Dad (her mother recently passed, R.I.P.), Uncles, Aunts, and several friends, there was no room left for anyone except my parents on my brother's side...again. Nope, siblings were not welcome (luckily for her, she does not have siblings). Am I spiteful? Yes. Do I care if they know? Not anymore. Do I think they care? No. In the not sinking to their level department, we continue to send Christmas cards and they will be invited to the baby shower and baptism of our child. I guess there is always the hope the things will change, but after close to 5 or 6 years of this, hope wains.

Time for you to work. Millions on welfare are counting on you.

Back from "out East".

So, last week I had 5 days to get in 7 days of riding in what should be my biggest volume week of the year. I increased my previous max weekly training hours in one week by over 25%, and that is with 2 less days to play with. I was tired. Knee bothered me some, back just a little, but I cranked out some big hours on the bike.

Friday saw me fly out to Maine to see my brother, Sam. After being under threat of being snowed in, a stop at deicing was needed before taking off. I was thankful for the fact I had a direct flight as cancellations and delayed flights seemed plentiful.

Sam picked me up from the Boston airport and we headed North to Biddeford, Maine via the coast. Got to see some cool old towns and George H. Bush's "summer" home. Met Sam's girlfriend. I can't remember her name, so I'll just call her Sam's girlfriend. She is cool for a girl.

The next day saw us head out to Bethel for some mountain action and XC sking. Little did we know that the world's largest SnowWoman lived there. We skied a bunch, I slept a bunch, Sam watched the NCAA tournament a bunch. It was all good. I definitely had a lot of fun in the only state with one syllable.

Now, I am back. Grinding out repairs at the shop and getting ready for this coming weekend. Me, the folks, and my baby's momma are going up at the cabin for more work.

For now, I am still a little tired.



W's dad owns this place. The picture only gets about 2/3rd's of it. It was impressive.


Me, Sam's gangsta girlfriend, and Sam.

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A "pick" of us heading to Bethel; where the players play. Get it? "Pick"?

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Yo, we're here.

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Well, you can read the sign.

We could see this as we drove into town and had to check out what it was. Look at the people at the base, and note the trees that are the arms. Skis made up the eyelashes, and car tires the smile.

If you think this picture is lame, then you are lamer for looking at it.

We ended up on a trail that was not groomed. It was...ahhhh...interesting skiing.

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Sam fall down go, "ouch".

Yeah, I picked myself off of the ground more than once as well. This time, I could not make not sharp corner.

Check out the mountains in the background, yo. Me on the left, Sam on the right.

Sweet action shot. We were classical skiing, for the record.

Oh, the poor golf carts don't like the winter. Poor, poor golf carts.

Sunday night Sam took me onto campus to do some work on me. I took the liberty to take this pic of Sam's closet friend. Sam, thanks for the "cracking".

Well, that is it. I had oodles of fun, but I am glad to be back and see my woman at the same time.

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Now for some bike time, some work time, and clobbering time.

Back online!!

Finally got our computer hooked up again. Sanding floors, staining, and applying protective coats caused the electronic box to be unplugged and stashed away in the dining room for the week.

I sit here now with a bag of ice on my knee. I have to hit the trainer and get some big hours in before heading to Maine this Friday to see my little brother, Sam.

I am finally not as groggy. We are taking the "trouble maker" greyhound to the kennel until it's owners come back. We have 2 of their skinny sprinters, but the male has made it a priority to wreck stuff, pee on stuff repeatedly, on "#2" all over. The female is much better.

I like to sit down and post pictures of my worldly adventures, but I barely have time to type this crap.

I gots to go. Work it.